West Ham sold for £105million
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David Sullivan and David Gold complete £105million takeover at West Ham
Done deal: Former Birmingham City owners David Gold (left) and David Sullivan (right) have completed their takeover of West Ham United
The protracted West Ham ownership saga was concluded on Monday night after David Sullivan and David Gold finally pushed through their takeover.
The pair have sealed a deal worth £105million for 50 per cent of the club and will take on their debts.
Manager Gianfranco Zola will be given a chance to prove himself to the former Birmingham City owners, who have promised to invest in the squad before the end of the month.
Strengthening West Ham’s threadbare attack is the priority and money is available immediately to fund moves for Manchester City’s Benjani and Monaco’s Eidur Gudjohnsen.
Sullivan and Gold will also push ahead with plans to relocate from Upton Park to the Olympic Stadium after the London Games in 2012.
Key to the relocation plans is the appointment of Karren Brady (right) as vice-chairman. Sullivan will assume the role of chairman and Gold is expected to take a seat on the board.
The deal was struck late last night after a day of tense negotiations. Malaysian businessman Tony Fernades is understood to have run Sullivan and Gold the closest, although the InterMarket consortium also spent the day in talks with West Ham’s corporate brokers Rothschild.
However, Sullivan and Gold appear to have been the most serious bidders all the way through the complex process and were the first to put hard cash on the table.
The news that his job is safe will come as a major relief to Zola, as former Manchester City manager Mark Hughes had been hotly tipped as the man the new owners wanted to revive West Ham’s fortunes.
Such was the level of speculation about Zola’s future on Monday that bookmakers stopped taking bets on him becoming the next Barclays Premier League manager to lose his job.
But now the uncertainty has been resolved, Zola has an opportunity to concentrate on ensuring West Ham’s Premier League status. They are currently in 16th place.
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why did yeung buy birmingham instead of west ham?
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UPTON SPARK ... Sullivan, Gold and Brady, new star of The Apprentice
Gold and Sullivan, both West Ham fans, are expected to be unveiled as the new owners this lunchtime. Straight after the big announcement they will go into a board meeting to formally begin their reign at the Boleyn Ground.
One of their first moves will be to formally appoint Sun columnist Brady as their vice-chairman. Brady is Sir Alan Sugar's new advisor on BBC TV's The Apprentice, whose catchphrase is 'You're Fired'.
The new Then they'll quickly turn to helping beleaguered boss Gianfranco Zola by giving him the green light to sign players in a bid to avoid the threat of relegation. But undoubtedly their top, long-term priority will be dealing with the mountain of debt they will inherit as part of the purchase of the club from out-going owners, Straumur.
Some insiders fear West Ham owe close to £100m and that huge sum would test even the business acumen of Gold and Sullivan.
As exclsuively revealed in The Sun, Gold and Sullivan are commiting around £46m for half of the club, with current owners Straumur keeping the other 50 per cent. But they will have total control to run the club as they see fit, with no intereference from the Icelandic bankers.
Sources close to the pair say they will be quick to explain just how severe the club's problems are and how tough a task it will be to put things right.
One pal said: "In one way it's a victory because they seem to have won the day and clinched the deal amid stiff competition.
"But there is also a realisation of the daunting task ahead and just what a challenge they face now that they are finally in control."
There will inevitably be changes. Manager Zola and coach Steve Clarke appear safe for now. But chief executive Scott Duxbury, technical director Gianluca Nani and financial director Nick Igoe will not be so lucky.
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Originally posted by dragg:
why did yeung buy birmingham instead of west ham?
Cos it was much cheaper?